TWO species of bat could scupper millionaire Stefan King's plans for a bar and club in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens.

TWO species of bat could scupper millionaire Stefan King's plans for a bar and club in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens.

The body charged with the care of Scotland's landscape and heritage has contacted council bosses insisting they conduct a bat survey at the listed park before any planning application is prepared for the West End site.

Save Our Botanics campaigners claim there are two species of bat roosting in the Kelvindale tunnel, the common pipistrelle and Daubenton. Pipistrelles are among the smallest British bats with a wingspan of 20cm. They weigh the same as a 5p piece and eat up to 2000 midges a night.

Wildlife experts who organise visits to the Botanics claim it is "very possible" roosts are in the disused tunnels.

And if routine environmental checks identify a colony of any variety it could present another headache for the G1 Group's proposals for a bar and nightclub within the gardens.

Last week senior figures within the city council claimed the tunnels claimed do not belong to the council to give away and some of the site falls under Common Good land, protecting it from development.

Bats and their habitat are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is an offence to "intentionally" destroy any place that a bat uses for shelter or protection.

Any scheme to develop the tunnels would require the Scottish Government to award a licence for the removal of the roosts which could take months if not years to complete.

David Howat, a solicitor and leading figure within Save Our Botanics, added: "It seems to me that there would be great difficulty in developing the tunnel at the Botanic Gardens without disturbing the roosting bats.

"This may be another reason why nightclub project hits the buffers, quite apart from the fact that the tunnel may not actually be owned by Glasgow City Council in the first place."

A council spokesman said: "We would carry out an environmental assessment before planning. No-one has shown us any evidence that proves bats are roosting within the tunnels at the Botanics."